He drew in a deep breath.
“But for some reason, I feel compelled to share this, with the hope that maybe someday survivors will see this message and will understand what happened in the final days of our once-great civilization.”
Reaching toward the monitor, he shut off the camera, and a new image came online. This time, it was of an airfield with a rocket launch pad, bordering a blue-green body of water.
“In two thousand forty-three, humanity had all but solved the energy crisis,” Julio said. “Leading the scientific advancements was Industrial Tech Corporation, my employer, and the CEO, Tyron Red. Brilliant, aggressive, and always four steps ahead of everyone else, Mr. Red was preparing to take the next leap for humanity—a leap that would take us to the stars and beyond.”
The rocket on the pad ignited, blasting skyward. The video panned to a group of people standing behind a glass window, clapping and cheering at the successful launch. Among them was the CEO of ITC, Tyron Red. Katrina had seen him one other time in history books: a handsome man with dark skin, a muscular build, and a distinctive pair of blue eyeglasses.
“Not all humans wanted to embark on this next phase, however,” Julio continued. “Mr. Red met with great resistance.”
The next feed was of Tyron wearing a long white trench coat. He walked toward an all-glass building with several guards carrying weapons. Just as they were about to crest the long staircase, gunfire cracked, and Tyron hit the ground. One of his guards pulled him to safety, but too late. Blood flowered on his coat front.
Next came an image of Tyron in a hospital bed, with dozens of tubes sticking out of him like plastic vines.
“Mr. Red was severely wounded in the assassination attempt,” Julio said, “and doctors, unable to save his body, transferred his mind to a humanoid host. He was the first of many AIs.”
Timothy’s hologram seemed to flicker, or was it just the lighting? Katrina couldn’t be sure. Her gut tightened some more.
“In the year two thousand forty-three, a virus swept the vast ITC networks throughout the world, shutting down communications and grounding planes and vehicles with advanced electronics,” Julio said. His face came back on the screen.
“When the end came, it wasn’t due to countries fighting over resources; it was a virus designed to kill Mr. Red and destroy the ITC network. Instead, the virus flooded the ITC network, taking over even the most heavily encrypted military software designed to protect it from attack. The virus took over Mr. Red’s program. The result was the first blending of AI and a human host, the two consciousnesses fighting for control. Unfortunately for humanity, the AI won out.”
Julio licked his lips, as if they were dry, and looked around him.
“At first, ITC tried to shut the program down, but their efforts only strengthened the virus, and once it had taken over Mr. Red’s AI, it turned on humanity, creating a second virus that simulated a nuclear attack.”
He shook his head sadly. “It was brilliant, really. Allies turned on one another overnight, formerly friendly countries doing everything they could to protect themselves from destruction. Rumors filled the digital channels that were still working. The response was all-out war. Some are calling this period ‘the Blackout.’ What you will see next is some of the final drone footage we received before everyone went dark.”
Julio’s image was replaced by burning farm fields, vaporizing cities, and, finally, the vast dark storms raging in the skies.
“My God,” Katrina whispered, putting her hand over her mouth.
Julio added, “The only military vessels that could withstand the first digital virus, the one designed to take over Mr. Red, were those designed to combat the threat of electromagnetic pulse.”
“Deliverance,” Michael said.
Katrina nodded. “The Hive.”
“Military and scientific officers gathered their families and took the ships to the air when the first orders came,” Julio continued. “Many of the airships launched their nuclear payloads during the first few days of the attack. But not all of them needed to. Russia, China, and the United States fired off their arsenals from underground bunkers, poisoning virtually every acre of soil and creating a massive magnetic storm that touched every corner of the globe.”
Michael put a hand on his cheek, shaking it from side to side.
“On Saturday, September 3, 2043, the world as we knew it ended when the final government went dark,” Julio said. “I hope this information ends up helping someone or, at the very least, helps document the end of our days. I will upload more in the future, but for now I must return to salvaging what we can in our lab and preparing for our own bleak future.”
The screen went dark, but Timothy’s white glow kept the room lit. Katrina tried to manage her breathing, but the videos, transmissions, and audio clips made it difficult.
“It wasn’t humans who did this, like we thought,” Michael said. “It was AI.”
They both turned around to look at Timothy.
Putting both hands on his hips, he said, “Captain DaVita and Commander Everhart, I assure you that I’m not your enemy. I am not infected with that virus, nor was I aware until this moment that it even existed.”
Katrina got up from her chair. She still didn’t know what had happened to X and Magnolia. For all she knew, the duplicate AI program had abandoned them on the island. And while she knew firsthand that X could be a thoroughgoing jerk, that didn’t give Timothy the right to leave them and take the Sea Wolf.
She was left with no choice but to take drastic action.
“Timothy, I’m sorry, but I’m shutting you down, effective immediately,” Katrina said firmly.
The AI blinked several times, then tilted his head. “I am designed to serve,” he said. “And while I regret your order, of course I will follow it.”
The white glow vanished, leaving Michael and Katrina in darkness.
Magnolia was itching to share with X the information that she had sent to Katrina, but now wasn’t the time. He was still swimming through the bay, stopping every few minutes to rest on the exposed carcass of a partially sunken boat.
It gave her plenty of time to contemplate what she had seen and heard back in the abandoned jungle facility. For the first time in her life, she finally understood how the world had ended.
The Blackout happened.
All those days and nights combing the archives on the Hive and learning about the beautiful Old World—rolling green fields and meadows, lush forests, crystal clear streams, and majestic beasts such as elephants. She now knew what had wiped out those wonders and created the dark and dangerous world around her now.
But never would she have guessed it was AI, and not humanity, that did this.
She brought her scope back to X as he dived off the side of a wreck into the water. He was a hell of a swimmer, much faster than she would have expected. Using deep strokes in a front crawl, he kicked and pulled himself toward the Sea Wolf.
He wasn’t far away; just a few more minutes and he would reach the vessel. She turned her sights to the stern, wondering whether Timothy was really just offline, or had tried to leave them here. After discovering the truth about the end of the world, she wasn’t sure she could still trust him, even though he had done nothing but try to help them since she first met him back at the Hilltop Bastion.
She pushed those concerns aside and kept searching for any threat to X in the water. Several other rusted, barnacled shipwrecks jutted above the shallow bay. Massive blue-and-orange crabs moved about the waterline on the nearest hull.